'If I knew then what I know now'

The new members’ lunch had a catchy title, “if I knew then what I know now,” and some seasoned advice behind it.

Amid a long day of classes detailing everything from how to set up a congressional office to members pay and benefits, the new members of Congress were treated on Monday to a panel discussion over lunch by four soon-to-be-sophomores: Reps. Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.), Gregg Harper (R-Miss.) Marcia Fudge (D-Ohio) and Gerry Connolly (D-Va.)

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The discussion – moderated by California Reps. Susan Davis, a Democrat, and Dan Lungren, a Republican – was designed to give the new members a better sense of how their lives were about to change.

“It surprises everyone, especially the press,” Connolly said of the last guideline, “and it will expand your influence.”

He also advocated civility. “That means avoiding the harshest rhetoric and respecting other points of view,’ he said. “Others may see political advantage in shouting, denigrating, and bitter ad hominem attacks. But they damage this House – the people’s House – when they do. Civility and humor are all too often in short supply, but they have more positive staying powers.”

“There is a reason the public holds the Congress in such low esteem,” he concluded, “not just their judgment of what we do, but how we do it.”

Harper focused on the significance of faith and family – many of the new members have young children and were eager for advice on how to manage life in Washington with their families back home – and reminded the new members how important it is to follow the rules.

“The old saying that it is better to ask forgiveness than permission should never be used in the House of Representatives,” he said.

Lummis tried to focus on the small details that make a difference, such as having her chief of staff stay back in Wyoming, keeping separate outfits at home and in the district, and, for the members who hail far from Washington, the difficulties of air travel.

“Don’t let you staff take no for an answer in terms of avoiding middle seats,” Lummis said as she recounted her advice to POLITICO. “For me that’s the killer. I can stand the travel, I just can’t stand the second to last row in a B seat when I’m flying in the air for 8 hours every week.”

“This would be a fantastic, wonderful adventure, being in Congress,” she said, “if it weren’t for the air travel.”